Clockwise from Upper Left Corner: Ice Cube, Director F. Gary Gary, Dr. Dre, Actors Corey Hawkins (Dr. Dre), Jason Mitchell (Easy-E) and O’Shea Jackson Jr. (Ice Cube)
Photo Courtesy of Universal Pictures
Universal Pictures has released the first image from Straight Outta Compton, the biopic of pioneering hip hop group N.W.A. (Niggaz Wit Attitudes). The photo (above) features founding members Ice Cube and Dr. Dre along with the director and actors of the films. Dr. Dre and Ice Cube along with the late Easy E’s widow Tomica Woods-Wright will produce the film with Universal Pictures as a distributor.
Compton based rapper Eazy-E (real name Eric Wright) formed N.W.A. in 1986 with friend Dr. Dre (Andre Young). By 1988, the group had added Ice Cube (O’Shea Jackson), DJ Yella (Antoine Carraby), Arabian Prince (Mik Lezan), and MC Ren (Lorenzo Patterson) to their roster just in time to release their famous (and infamous) album Straight Outta Compton. While the album was a huge hit, it drew heavy criticisms for violent and provocative tracks such as “Gangsta Gangsta” and “Fuck tha Police”. The exposure and success N.W.A. received led to turmoil within the band, with a few walking out by the end of eighties. The film will reportedly chronicle their rise and fall as they shape the rap industry.
Interestingly enough, Ice Cube’s son has been cast to play his father. Were the film made a few years ago the role could have been played by the actual Ice Cube, who has since transitioned into acting with appearances in Boyz n the Hood, Three Kings, and 21 Jump Street. Since N.W.A.’s dissolution Dr. Dre has stepped out of the rapping limelight to become one of the most influential producers of the past two decades. Much of the funding came from Dre’s deep pockets which got even deeper earlier this year when Beats By Dre was sold to Apple in a whopping 3 Billion dollar acquisition.
A few months ago Ice Cube let a few details slip about the production during an interview for Ride Along. “We’re schedule to film and start production in July.” Ice Cube said. “We’ve been casting for six months now, so we’re still in that process of finding the right people to represent the world’s most dangerous group.
F. Gary Gary is set to direct with previous credits including Law Abiding Citizen, The Italian Job and the Ice Cube cult comedy Friday. Release is scheduled for August 14, 2015.